Where do these fans come from?

Diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan Shelli Dankoff McClellan of Washington at AFC Championship game at Heinz Field. Your can read how Shelli became a fan of Steelers in Saturday’s Journal Star.

I’m fascinated at how loyalty to certain sports teams can defy local allegiances. This is, of course, Chicago Bears country, but there are a lot of fans who bleed colors of other teams. Around here, that seems especially so for both the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

For example, just across the hallway is the office of Journal Star City Editor Mike Cecil. The tidy space doubles as that of a venerable newspaper editor’s work area and that of a veritable shrine to the Black and Gold of Pittsburgh. Suffice it to say, Cecil kind of has a thing for his Steelers – and, it’s pretty much been a life-long thing.

So where do these loyalties come from? We tossed the question to readers: How’d you fall in love with these teams not from the immediate region? Those who took time to reveal the origins of their Steelers or Packers fandom make for interesting reading. Their stories will appear in Saturday’s Journal Star and on pjstar.com. Take a peek and have a fun Super Bowl weekend.